Cover cloths, which include tarpaulins, drop cloths, blankets, sheets, wrapping and the like, have many uses both inside and outside various types of structures. Many of these pieces include coverings for objects during painting, protection of various items from adverse weather conditions, protection for stored items and the like. All such coverings are sheetlike material, and, as such, they are subject to being disarranged from their spread-out covering position over the desired area by many different factors. People, vehicles, wind, and the like, can cause a disarray of the covering so as to expose covered objects.
On boats, the use of cover cloths is inappropriate. On boats, there is constant sway, constant motion of wind and waves, and constant movement by persons thereabout. As such, it becomes extremely difficult to make such covered cloths suitable for use on boats. Additionally, insofar as covered cloths could be used to cover the hatches of boats, it is often undesirable to utilize a cloth material, as such, as a covering for the hatch. Since covers are rather solid, opaque material, it would become difficult to cover the hatches and holes of a boat while still permitting the persons within the hatch to have a view of the operations on the boat.
When using the boat in coastal areas, sleep becomes difficult because of problems of heat, inadequate ventilation and insects. If a solid cover is utilized over the hatches and holes, then ventilation becomes greatly restricted, and the heat within the boat becomes unbearable. It is always an object to have constant ventilation passing through the interior of the boat under such conditions. However, when the cover is not used, insects have open access to the persons onboard the boat.
It is an additional problem with such weighted cover cloths in boat use that storage becomes difficult or impossible. Where solid lead weights are used in the protective edge of such covers, it is difficult to fold, compress, and store onboard the boat. Such configurations take a great deal of the available room. Additionally, in various prior art types of cover cloths, the material within the weighted edges is free to distribute throughout the weighted edge. As such, during the movement of the boat, the weight may become redistributed and cause the covering to become undone.
Various U.S. patents have described weighted edges about cloth and similar material. U.S. Pat. No. 3,862,876, issuing to James Graves, on Jan. 28, 1975, shows a protective cover cloth having continuous flexible weights secured along at least two opposing edges of the cover. The purpose of this patent was to provide a cloth that would protect on against wind blowing and other disturbances. The cloth, however, is made of woven, natural or synthetic fibers, of continuous sheet material such as synthetic plastic film, or may be made of a metal covered sheet material, such as aluminum foil or canvas.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,295,264 shows a screen material, such as netting, that has built-i n weights at the edges. In particular, this device shows a gutter system utilizing a flexible guard. It is the purpose of this invention to keep material from building up in a gutter. In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 2,259,151 shows fabric having weighted edges.
Each of these prior art patents is somewhat unsuitable for use onboard boats. First, without having compartmentalized weight-containing edges, the material is free to distribute throughout the weighted edge. Secondly, it is important, for boat use, that such apparatus be easily folded, compressed, and stored. It is important that the material within the weighted edges be a netting material so as to properly keep mosquitoes out while allowing open ventilation. Also, these devices would tend to sink if dropped overboard.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a weighted netting that is suitable for use onboard boats.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a weighted netting that is suitable for being compressed and stored.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a weighted netting in which the weighted material will not become redistributed throughout the weighted edge.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a weighted netting that is suitable for floating on water.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a reading of the attached specification and appended claims.